Chad is a 2004 graduate of Dartmouth College, where he majored in Earth Science and earned his secondary teacher certification credential. While in college, Chad helped start a school-based mentoring program at a local middle school for youth with learning differences and was a student leader and mentor in a community-based mentoring program. After college, he worked as the program director of The DREAM Program, a village mentoring program that matches youth from local affordable housing communities with mentors from neighboring colleges and provides year-round wraparound services. In August 2009, Chad moved to Boston, MA to spearhead DREAM’s first office and programs outside the state of Vermont. Chad returned to Vermont and joined MENTOR Vermont in May of 2013 as the executive director to lead the organization’s expansion into a statewide mentoring partnership. Chad also currently serves as chair of MENTOR National’s Affiliate Advisory Council.

Benji graduated from Middlebury College in 2008, and received his Bachelor’s degree in English and American Literature. Benji joined MENTOR VT (formerly Mobius) as an AmeriCorps VISTA member (through the Vermont Youth Tomorrow program) in 2009, and helped recruit new mentors, promote public awareness of the mentoring cause, and expanded the Mentor Discount Card program for mentor pairs in Chittenden County. Benji transitioned to a staff position with the organization in 2011, and worked collaboratively with mentoring programs and funders across the state to expand the organization into Vermont’s Mentoring Partnership. In his current position as Communications Director, he manages communications and marketing for the organization, and works with mentoring agency staff to expand public awareness efforts across the state. He is also the administrator for the Vermont Mentoring Database, an online system that allows mentoring agencies to store program information on the MENTOR VT website, apply for grants, and manage information and outcome data for their mentoring matches.

Vermont mentoring programs are directly represented within MENTOR Vermont by the Program Leadership Council (PLC). This group is comprised of elected representatives from mentoring programs across the state who advise the organization on its mentoring initiatives. Up to four members of this council also sit on MENTOR Vermont’s Board of Directors.

We encourage all programs to share questions and ideas with the PLC members in their area. Email any of the PLC members by clicking on their name in the list below.

ADAPTABILITY

We approach our work with a flexible and open mindset in order to best meet the needs of Vermont youth. We will always be innovative, while maintaining the sustainability of the organization.

BENEFITING YOUTH

We maintain a steadfast belief in mentoring, while supporting positive youth development. We believe this development includes safety, security, and enjoyment of childhood.

INCLUSIVENESS

We recognize that many factors contribute to an individual’s sense of identity and we aim to be sensitive to these differences and be inclusive in all aspects of our work. This understanding helps us to support all youth in our communities.

PASSION AND ENJOYMENT OF WORK

We foster a fun work environment so that staff members enjoy their jobs and are passionate about their work. All staff volunteer as mentors to stay grounded in the organization’s mission and gain gratifying personal and professional experiences.

SUPPORTIVE COMMUNITY

We encourage collaboration within MENTOR Vermont and with the organizations and communities with which we work. We actively participate in the exchange of resources so that communities can best support their youth.

TRANSPARENCY

We believe that clear, consistent, open, and honest communication is necessary to build trust and understanding in all of our relationships. Confidentiality is important in terms of personal matters, but all other information, decisions, reasons, and intents should flow freely to everyone involved in the organization.

6: History

MENTOR Vermont was originally founded in 2003 as Mobius, a regional mentoring umbrella agency in northwestern Vermont that provided support to mentoring programs by helping to expand mentoring opportunities, recruiting and supporting new volunteers, and raising awareness of the cause. From 2003 to 2012, Mobius and the mentoring programs it supported helped grow the number of mentor pairs in the region from 350 to more than 900.

In the fall of 2018, Mobius rebranded and changed its name to MENTOR Vermont, in order to better align with MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership. This rebranding did not change our mission but will provide our organization with new opportunities and resources to help ensure more youth in Vermont can receive the benefits of having a caring, consistent adult mentor.

MENTOR Vermont continues to provide technical support, advocacy, and funding for youth mentoring programs throughout the state of Vermont. MENTOR Vermont also leads ongoing efforts to raise public awareness of mentoring throughout the state, and offers a variety of other resources. For more information, visit the Support and Resources page.